Jury selection had been set to begin in a civil trial to determine how much the team owners will owe other investors who trusted their money to Madoff, who cheated thousands of investors of roughly $20 billion over at least two decades.

"Litigation is negative energy so we're happy to have this behind us we can refocus our lives to take care of our families, businesses and lives," Saul Katz, one of the Mets' principal owners along with Fred Wilpon, said.

Trustee Irving Picard had argued the team owners knew that Madoff's corrupt investment scheme was a fraud but continued their investments anyway because they were making a lot of money. Lawyers for the owners insist their clients had no idea the investments were a sham.

Both Wilpon and Katz were in court today at the defense table.

"We are not willfully blind we never were," Wilpon said, "and we're happy this settlement bears this out."

Judge Jed Rakoff said Picard had reviewed the evidence and will no longer pursue a claim of "willful blindness" against the defendants.

The judge already had ruled the team's owners must pay up to $83.3 million in profits they received from Madoff.

But another ruling blocked Picard from trying to collect the full $1 billion he sought to recoup. He has filed hundreds of lawsuits to force those who profited from their investment to pay into a fund for Madoff's victims.

The case has damaged the Mets' financial picture, forcing the team to slash payroll and try to raise tens of millions of dollars by selling small chunks of the team.

Wilpon said he will return to Mets spring training in Florida Tuesday, with the continued aim to bring the team "back to prominence."

Star-Ledger staff writer Conor Orr and The Associated Press contributed to this report.